The NOT Triwizard Tournament
by Peaceful Sunrise
Summary: The Goblet of Fire is not infallible, as proven by the fake Moody. What if he wasn't the only one to take advantage of this? What if other students entered as well? What if, their names came out? GOF era AU. IMPORTANT A/N!
1. Nine is Enough

**Summary: We all know that the Goblet of Fire isn't infallible. What if other students took advantage of that? Take a look at how the Triwizard Tournament would turn out, with a few too many extra competitors. **

**Will be updated whenever my muse allows.**

**Requirements for being J.K. Rowling:  
>Blond<br>Writer  
>Rich<strong>

**I am none of the above, save being a writer, therefore, I am not J.K. Rowling, and do not own Harry Potter**

* * *

><p>The Triwizard Tournament…NOT<p>

Chapter One: Nine is Enough

Fred and George were determined to get into the tournament.

With all the prize money they would win, they could start up their own joke shop! Not to mention the fame that went with it. The only problem was the Age Line.

"Aging Potion?" Fred suggested again.

"Nah, ol' Dumbles' probably prepared for that. No, my brother, we're going to have to be sneakier than that."

"Sneaky is my middle name."

"What's the plan?"

"Indoor Quidditch game in the hall, we fly over the goblet, drop our names in."

"Excellent idea."

* * *

><p>Angelina, Katie, and Alicia were determined to get into the tournament.<p>

"Come on girls!" Angelina said fiercely "Fred and George are entering, you can bet somehow Harry will enter, so that just leaves us! Who says we can't do it? We're Gryffindors, and we'll win!"

"I agree!" Alicia added "All three of us could win this thing easy as a Quidditch match!"

"I'm in." Katie finished the deal.

"Right." Angelina said firmly "Here's the plan. I'm 17, so when I put my name in, I'll drop in yours as well. Go Gryffindor!"

"Go Gryffindor!"

"Go Gryffindor!"

* * *

><p>Luna Lovegood was determined to get into the tournament.<p>

The Quibbler had recently run an article on the magical benefits of participating in magical tournaments and competitions. Not only would your magical core increase, but the Wrackspurts clouding the minds of the people around you and causing them to act strangely would be driven away every time you approached. This was very good, as the whole of Ravenclaw tower seemed to be infested with Wrackspurts. She had never seen a bigger infestation.

"Here Nargle!" she whispered softly as she approached the Goblet "There you go, into the nice cup you go!"

The Nargle in her hand leapt straight into the Goblet of Fire, where it basked in the warmth from the flames. The Goblet gave a contented aura off, as the Nargle loosened its awareness. Luna took advantage of this, and quickly put her name in.

Now, hopefully, the Goblet would pick her.

* * *

><p>Millicent Bulstrode was determined to get into the tournament.<p>

Her entire time at Hogwarts, she had been constantly ridiculed because of her size, her weight, her looks, her house, and her family. So what she wasn't pretty? Neither was Granger.

Unlike most of her fellow Slytherins, she didn't really believe in that blood purity thing. Her older sister had been disowned from the family because she married a half blood, and Millicent had silently raged. Frieda wasn't stupid. She wouldn't marry someone not worthy. That was when Millicent knew that everything she had been raised to believe was wrong.

Well, she wasn't going to take any of this much longer! She was smart. She was the top Slytherin in Transfiguration. She was going to win this tournament, and prove the whole school wrong. Slytherins were good guys…well, they could win with minimal cheating. Looks weren't it all.

Creeping up to the tournament, she stood at the very edge of the Age Line, and took the piece of parchment in her hand.

"Wingardium Leviosa." she whispered, and the parchment rose into the air, and under the direction of her wand, floated over the mouth of the Goblet, and fell in.

* * *

><p>Crookshanks was determined to get into this human contest.<p>

He had heard Mistress talking about it with the messy haired one with the scar, and the red haired one who made Mistress angry every day.

If he was in this human contest, Mistress would be famous for owning such a smart cat, and more people would like her. Also, he would one up that scrawny excuse for a feline that the creepy human who cleans owned. The fact that all cats everywhere would adore him was also a factor.

Padding over to Mistress' carry-bag, he extracted a piece of the flat yellow pelt humans wrote on. He took the black water that Mistress and the others made marks with, and dabbed his paw in it, and marked the paper with his cat-name. He knew the wise long-beard human knew lots of languages, and would be able to understand the noble language of his kind.

Silently, he slipped out of Mistress' sleeping den. He avoided the scrawny cat, and arrived in the big den where the big cup was. Easily passing the line on the floor, he scrabbled up the cup, dropped the flat yellow pelt in, and padded off.

* * *

><p>The whole hall was still a-buzzing over the fourth champion, when the Goblet flared red once more.<p>

"Anuzzer champion?" Madame Maxime said in outrage "Thees ees absurd!"

The Goblet spit out a piece of parchment, and Dumbledore caught it. He stared at the name for a long while, in seeming amusement and disbelief.

"Representing the Weasley School of Pranking Awesomeness," he said, slight humour in his voice "George Weasley."

"Oh yeah!" George yelled, and he and Fred high-fived "George Weasley, right here!"

"This is ridiculous!" Karkaroff boomed "Hogwarts cannot have _three _champions!"

"I'm representing the Weasley School of Pranking Awesomeness!" George said indignantly.

"Be that as it may..." Dumbledore began, but was interrupted by the Goblet shooting out another piece of paper. Surprised, he took it, and his eyes widened when he read it.

"What now?" Madame Maxine threw her hands in the air.

"Representing the Chasers' Academy for Girls is Alicia Spinnet." Dumbledore said in slight disbelief.

"Whooo!" Angelina and Katie cheered, as Alicia stood up, grinning embarrassedly.

"Come on up, Alicia!" George hollered, and the blushing girl made her way up to stand beside George, and a very confused Harry Potter.

"Now 'ogwarts 'as four bites at zee apple!" Madame Maxime cried in outrage.

"But Madame," George said, grinning "It is a very big apple!"

"Mr. Weasley!" Professor McGonagall started to shout, but was interrupted by yet another piece of parchment coming out of the Goblet. With slight weariness, Dumbledore took it, and read it out aloud.

"From the Institute of Rare Magical Creatures, is Luna Lovegood."

You could almost hear the sound of jaws dropping around the room. Luna ignored the shocked and jealous looks her housemates, and indeed, most of Hogwarts, were sending her, and skipped merrily up to the front, beaming.

"…yay Luna!" Ginny cheered and clapped, and when she started glaring at her fellow Gryffindors, and fingering her wand, they quickly starting clapping too.

"I demand on resubmitting the names of my students!" Karkaroff yelled above the noise "This is unacceptable!"

"I agree, Dumblydore!" Madame Maxime shouted as well "Zee Potter boy was already quite enough, and now there ees three ozzer champions from 'ogwarts!"

"Oi!" George said indignantly "I'm representing the Weasley School of Pranking Awesomeness!"

"And I'm representing the Chasers' Academy for Girls!" added Alicia.

"The Institute of Rare Magical Creatures demands they be recognized!" Luna said brightly.

Any further debate was cut off by yet another piece of parchment spewing forth from the Goblet.

"Dumbledore!" Karkaroff yelled, face red as a tomato's. Dumbledore grasped it resignedly, and choked when he read the name.

"Millicent Bulstrode, of the Serpent's Academy for the Magical Arts."

Millicent stood up, beaming, and after a shocked silence, Slytherin House politely started clapping, in Slytherin terms, a big honour.

"Good job!" Luna said kindly as Millicent went to stand beside her.

"Yeah…good job." Alicia said slowly, mentally fighting a battle with her House pride.

"Welcome to the Champion's Circle…thing." George finally said "You are a Champion, just like us, after all."

"No she is not!" Karkaroff roared, face purple, and spit flying out the corners of his mouth "And neither are you! Or you! Or you! Or you!"

"Silence!" Dumbledore made several fireworks explode out of his wand, and everyone froze "There has been another Champion selected by the Goblet."

"Oh for the love of Merlin!" Crouch said impatiently "Who is it, Dumbledore?"

"It's…" Dumbledore squinted "Ah! Most interesting."

"What ees eet?" Madame Maxime said angrily.

"I beg some time, Madame." Dumbledore said courteously "It has been a while since last I read Mreow, and I'm afraid I'm out of practice."

"Read what?" Madame Maxime had a blank look on her face, as did most of the people there. Crouch, however, widened his eyes.

"Good Lord, Dumbledore! Are you sure?"

"Positive, Barty." Dumbledore said "Ah yes, I see it now. Representing the mighty warrior school of Flashing Claw is Crookshanks."

"WHAT?" Hermione screeched, standing straight up "Crookshanks, you bad cat!"

"Meeow!" From a dark corner, an orange blur shot out, dashed straight across the hall, and skid to a halt beside Dumbledore. It was Crookshanks, and he seemed to be smirking.

"Un chat?" Madame Maxime said in disbelief.

"This is the limit!" Karkaroff screamed, and above head, lightning flashed, causing several first years to scream as well "A bloody cat has entered! What next? A giant spider, perhaps?"

"Aragog wouldn't do that!" Hagrid protested.

"Karkaroff ees right!" Madame Maxime said furiously "Zee value of zee tournament has been undermined! We 'ave six illicit champions, and one ees un chat!"

"MROW!" Crookshanks spat angrily.

"Surely this is just one big misunderstanding!" Ludo Bagman tried to say.

"It is not!" Karkaroff rounded on him "My student must compete against six imbeciles, who cheated their way in!"

"Hey!" George yelled loudly.

"I didn't put my name in!" Harry shouted.

"Daddy says people who lose their temper are infected by Nargles, and are likelier to die a violent death." Luna said, frowning.

"That's…" Professor Flitwick paused "That's a very good point, Ms. Lovegood."

"Are you implying that Slytherins are imbeciles?" Millicent glared at the Durmstrang headmaster. The Slytherins rose up in protest over this.

"Are you saying Gryffindors are idiots?" George roared, and the Gryffindors started hurling abuse at the almost comatose with anger man. It was a sign of how angry both Houses were, that neither stopped to insult the other.

"Are you saying Ravenclaws are idiots?" Marietta yelled, and all the Ravenclaws started shouting. They might not have liked Luna, but she was still a Ravenclaw, and anyone outside of Ravenclaw calling her an idiot was calling the whole house an idiot. Somewhere in that logic were several big holes, but right now, no one particularly cared.

"Are you saying my Crookshanks is dumb?" Hermione sent an ice cold glare at Karkaroff, who cowered slightly.

"That is enough!" Dumbledore shouted, and everyone cringed at the sound of his voice "Never have I been more disappointed in Hogwarts, and at my fellow Heads, than right now. Students of Hogwarts, these people are guests here, and you owe them every courtesy! Olympe, Igor, I would only have expected such behavior from children! If you have a complaint, talk to me privately, instead of making fools of yourselves in front of your students!"

"Now see here-" Karkaroff began.

"Igor…" Dumbledore said warningly. Karkaroff glared, but relented.

"Fine." he spat "But we will have words!"

"I have no doubt about that." Dumbledore said "But it has occurred to me that we are being quite rude by ignoring our original three champions. If all the champions would follow me? Minerva, Filius, Severus, Pomona, I think you'd better come as well. Ms. Granger, please accompany us too."

The six champions, Headmasters and Headmistress, Heads of House, Ministry officials, and Hermione all proceeded to enter the antechamber beside the Great Hall, leaving behind three very volatile schools.

* * *

><p>"Thees ees outrageous!" Fleur declared as soon as she had been told the story " 'ogwarts cannot 'have seven champions!"<p>

"We're representing different schools!" George hollered "For the last time!"

"Out of curiousity, Professor Dumbledore," Harry said quietly, and everyone turned to look at him "What school was I entered under?"

"As if you don't know!" snarled Karkaroff.

"Igor…" Dumbledore warned "In answer to your question, Mr. Potter, I believe it was the North American School of Magic."

"The what?" Harry said blankly.

"Stop pretending you don't know!" Karkaroff said impatiently "You're the one who put your name in!"

"But I didn't! I swear!" Harry said pleadingly "Professor Dumbledore, I swear I didn't enter."

"I know you didn't, Mr. Potter, and you should not worry yourself that others do not believe you." Dumbledore said kindly "If someone is determined not to believe you, nothing you can do or say will make them believe you."

"But surely, Dumbledore, they cannot compete!" Karkaroff protested "Their so-called schools aren't even real! They don't even have a Headmaster!"

"The North American School of Magic does, Igor, you cannot forget that." Dumbledore said.

"And I believe Ms. Lovegood does have a Heamaster, Headmaster Karkaroff." Professor Flitwick said suddenly.

"And who might that be?" Karkaroff sneered.

"Me." Professor Flitwick said firmly "I have failed Ms. Lovegood as Head of her House, seeing as it was not until tonight when almost none of her Housemates applauded her, that I realized her problems in my House. Ms. Lovegood, I promise I will not fail you again."

"That's quite alright, Professor." Luna said dreamily "It was the Wrackspurts clouding up your head."

"I see." Professor Flitwick said seriously "We must have a chat soon, and you can tell me what else they have been hiding from me."

"I look forward to it."

"Well, the others still have no Heamaster!" Karkaroff said triumphantly "So they cannot compete."

"Not so, Igor." The deep baritone of Snape's voice rolled out "I will be Ms. Bulstrode's Headmaster for the duration of this tournament, and I am confidant she will excel in it."

"I thank you, Pro- Headmaster Snape." Millicent said respectfully "I will not fail you."

"Meow!" Crookshanks meowed loudly, and everyone looked at Crookshanks, who was nestled in a nervous Hermione's arms "Meow meow mreow meow meow. Mreow meow meow meow."

"I believe it…_he _said that the leader of Flashing Claw will come as a representative." Mr. Crouch said "It has been a while since I've seen Lightningclaw."

"Who?" was the collective question. Mr. Crouch puffed up slightly.

"One of the leaders of the different sort of clans, you could say, that Kneazles have organized themselves into. Flashing Claw is one of the more prominent, and one of the most secretive. Few Kneazles kittens have ever been given from them."

"Yes yes, the cat has a leader, and apparently, you can understand it." Karkaroff rolled his eyes "What of the other two?"

"I'm going to be contacting Gwenog Jones, captain of the Holyhead Harpies." Alicia said quickly "She said in an interview she might consider founding a Quidditch school one day. I'm sure she won't mind."

"And Fred and I decided that if one of us got into the Tournament, we'd send a letter to the Marauders!" George said brightly. Four faces paled in rapid succession, while most of the others looked confused. "Don't know why we haven't tried that before. I'm sure one of them wouldn't mind."

"Hey, George?" Harry said with a wicked grin, and McGonagall shivered. That look was identical to the one on James Potter's face every time he set off a prank "I know who the Marauders are, and I can send a letter for you."

"You what?" George actually gasped "You knew? And you didn't tell us?"

"Don't tell him, Mr. Potter!" McGonagall said quickly, with a hint of desperation in her voice. Harry ignored her.

"Prongs, Padfoot, and Wormtail," this name was spat "Are unavailable, but I know Moony would definitely be interested."

"Mr. Potter, please…" McGonagall was almost crying "Do you realize what will happen if the Weasley twins get together with the Marauders?"

"Yep, and I'm looking forward to it!" Harry said. Professor Sprout actually fainted, and had to be revived.

"Who is it?" George begged. Harry smirked, and McGonagall felt a chill run down her spine.

"First, you and Fred have to promise not to prank me or Ron or Hermione." Harry said.

"Deal." George said quickly "We wouldn't prank you and Hermione anyone."

"I should think so." Hermione sniffed.

"I'll give you a hint." Harry said, smirk broadening "Moony was one of your former teachers."

"Former teachers…can't be Quirrel, he's got no sense of humour, not Lockhart, he's too stupid, definitely not Jackson, he's American, and Davids is a woman so that leaves…" George trailed off eyes wide. McGonagall smacked her forehead. Snape actually groaned, and his scowl deepened.

"Mischief managed!" Harry said cheerfully. George fainted.

* * *

><p>Barty Crouch Jr. was furious, to say the least. He had planned on Potter being the only extra person entered in the tournament, and now there were five other contenders! This was great, just great. Three champions, he could easily handle. Eight? Eight bloody champions? His Master was not going to be happy.<p>

The extra champions also presented another problem. There was the chance that one or more of them would get a higher score than Potter. The Spinnet, Lovegood, and Bulstrode girls he wasn't worried about. The cat, even less so. It was the blood traitor Weasley twin. From what he had seen of their school work, and the rumours around the castle, they were brilliant, if they tried. And they would most definitely try.

As he stomped up to his quarters, scaring a pair of Hufflepuff first years on the way, he swore that when his Master returned, the Weasley twins would be the first to go.


	2. How'd You Like Your Eggs Done?

**Hi, Peaceful Sunrise here! Sorry about the long update. My teachers have completely swamped me in homework for the past few weeks, so I haven't had much chance to write anything. Sorry if this chapter is a bit rushed, but I did say that I'd update sometime this weekend, so here it is.**

**For the tasks, the canon champions are doing it the same way as in the books, so I didn't go into as much detail about them. Fleur has no accent, because it is really annoying to type. This task might seem like it has a lot of blabber about marks and stuff, but the second task will be better. **

**Read my story. Then read J.K. Rowling's story. I wish her story was my story. Sadly, it is not. I do not own Harry Potter.**

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><p>Chapter Two: How'd You Like Your Eggs Done?<p>

Things were not going at all well for Harry.

First, his name had been entered into the blasted Goblet. Second, no one seemed to believe he hadn't done it, except for Hermione, and for some strange reason, the Ravenclaw girl, Luna. Third, Ron didn't believe him, and was now being the biggest prat on Earth.

At least the whole school didn't hate him. Due to the entering of all the other extra champions, everyone seemed to think that he was just one of the many who got lucky in entering the tournament, and none save Snape and the Slytherins, who acted their usual snarky selves, treated him any different.

Perhaps the most annoying thing, or rather, person, was Rita Skeeter, who had taken to making any number of stories about him. Dumbledore had banned her from the grounds, but story after story had still come out in the Daily Prophet. Needless to say, Harry was very fed up.

How in the name of Merlin's beard was he supposed to do this tournament? He was the second youngest there, and had no clue what the first task even was. Well, there was that message from Hagrid, to meet him at midnight. Harry wondered what that could possibly be about.

As he discussed the possibilities with Hermione, he failed to notice a single Extendable Ear listening to everything he said.

_o0O0o_

Crookshanks wasn't stupid. He had overheard the messy haired human who was also in the contest talking with Mistress about how the task was something humans called dragons. Barbaric, those lot. They were talking of course, about the great fire lizards, who had once tried to conquer Flashing Claw territory. They soon learned not to!

In his youth, he had been a scout in the great fire lizard war. He had snuck past many a lizard, and returned safe and sound. Really, these humans were quite stupid! He had seen the sulky human who liked to fly in the den with many books, as Mistress called those flat leaves with markings. He had seen the enchantress that made all the male humans go crazy practice her calming enchantments. He had seen the red haired older kitmates of the red haired human who always made Mistress mad, follow the messy haired one, and concoct a ridiculous plan, which involved shape shifting, somehow. The big, troll like girl from the snake den was slightly smarter. She was matching fire with fire. Even smarter was the girl who liked to fly around with the big red ball. She, Crookshanks knew, was going to leave humans behind, and become dragon. The wise blond human girl, who had understood him, and was so kind, was the smartest of them all. She knew there was no use fighting the fire lizards.

Well, smart as the wise blond girl might be, she was no match for a cat. Cats were the smartest of all creatures, and Crookshanks would represent them with pride. Let the foolish humans sneer and scorn! He would prove them all wrong.

_o0O0o_

Really, how stupid were the organizers?

Millicent had done research in the library, and discovered each task had a theme. The first was air and fire. The second, water, and the third, earth. Obviously, air and fire meant dragons! How stupid were the Ministry?

The dragons were a piece of cake. Her sister's husband worked with dangerous creatures, and once, he had told Millicent that dragons were not easily deceived, and if another dragon encroached on their territory, they would fight to the death.

This task was going to be so easy.

_o0O0o_

Alicia wasn't stupid.

Angelina and Katie had kept their eyes and ears open, and told her that Fred and George were planning to sneak out to Hagrid's hut at midnight. What reason would they have for doing so, unless it was the first task?

It was easy, so easy, to follow them. They were so concerned with looking around them, that all Alicia had to do was glide over them on her broom. She had seen the dragons first, and initially, her first reaction was to panic. Dragons!

Then, she had talked it over with Angelina and Katie, and they had convinced her it wasn't so hard after all. They had talked late into the night, and conceived a brilliant plan, that was sure to work. Dragons were not easy to impress, but if you succeeded, they were rumoured to give you anything you wanted.

_o0O0o_

Bagman was as satisfied as it was possible to be in such a situation.

Sure, the Headmistress for the North American School of Magic had told him in no uncertain terms to leave her out of this, since she didn't condone such tournaments. Sure, the other champions had fake schools, but at least all their "Heads" had agreed to be a judge. Sure, ol' Barty Crouch seemed to be acting stranger than normal, but he needed a break anyway. It was all going to go perfectly, or his name wasn't Ludo Bagman.

_o0O0o_

Cedric was reasonably worried.

He had succeeded in getting the golden egg from that Swedish Shortsnout, but it had given him an enourmous burn in return. It took all his charms to convince Madam Pomfrey to let him see his scores. Now, he wasn't so certain. There were bound to be marks off for his burn.

First was Dumbledore, who gave him an eight. Cedric gave a small sigh of relief. That was a good start. Karkaroff then gave him a six, but Cedric had expected that anyway. Madame Maxime had given him a seven, another reasonable score, considering his injury. Gwenog Jones of the Holyhead Harpies had emulated her, and also given a seven. That brought him up to 28, so far, with six more judges left.

Professor Lupin gave him an eight, same as Dumbledore, and so did Professor Flitwick. Snape gave him a seven, and Cedric blinked. He had been expecting a six, or less. Maybe Snape wasn't so bad after all…

The cat, whom Cedric vaguely remembered from Bagman's introductions, as being called Lightningclaw, gave him a six. Cedric supposed that was for his burn. Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman finished it off with an eight each, giving him a total of 73 points.

73! Not as much as he had expected, but still pretty good. Now, where was Cho?

_o0O0o_

Fleur was not at all worried.

Sure, her skirt had caught a little fire, but in the end, she had still gotten the golden egg. Maybe it wouldn't be a perfect score, but she was still bound to get better than anyone else.

The Hogwarts Headmaster, Dumblydore, gave her an eight. Fair enough, she supposed. The Heads had to be slightly biased. When that Karkaroff gave her a six, she was furious. And he called that fair! Let him try getting past a dragon! Madame Maxime gave her a nine, which pleased Fleur. She knew she couldn't have perfect, not after her skirt caught fire, but nine was still high enough to keep her in the running.

The Quidditch captain, Jones, gave her a seven, and so did the ragged looking wizard beside her. The little professor who looked like a goblin gave her an eight, and the scowling teacher whom that Karkaroff seemed to hang around gave her a six. Un six! Thees was absurd!

The silly cat gave her a seven, but those British Ministry officials gave her an eight each. Mon Dieu! A 68! This was definitely not what she had been expecting.

As she stormed off towards the Beauxbatons carriage, she thought what a waste of time this had all been. This was a completely slated competition!

_o0O0o_

Viktor Krum was embarrassed.

He hadn't wanted to be in this tournament thing at all. He had just wanted to see what the famous school, Hogwarts, was like. But then he had been chosen, and had to compete.

The dragon had been easy to get past, but the curse had made it trample half the eggs, which Krum knew would get him low marks from every judge, except for Karkaroff.

He was right. Dumbledore gave him a seven, which was no more than he expected, and indeed, higher than he had hoped. Karkaroff gave him a perfect score, and Krum's face burned red. Now everyone would think he couldn't win this thing on his own, without his Headmaster giving him good scores!

The French Headmistress, Maxime, gave him a six, as did the Quidditch captain, though she gave him a slight smile. The wizard in the patched clothes gave him a seven, and to his astonishment, the little professor who looked very much like those goblins had given him an eight!

The menacing teacher with greasy hair gave him a seven, and he saw Karkaroff give him a glare, though why, he didn't know. The cat gave him a five, which he had expected. The British Ministry people gave him a seven each, and Krum plodded away despondently. A 70! This was not at all going well.

_o0O0o_

Harry wasn't quite sure what to feel at Ron. On one hand, he was his first friend. On the other hand, he had betrayed him, and left him. He'd ask Hermione what to do later.

He managed to escape Madam Pomfrey in time to see his score. Dumbledore gave him a nine, which was far higher than Harry had expected. Karkaroff gave him a four, and Harry heard Ron complaining about the low score. Point in Ron's favour.

Madame Maxime gave him an eight, a fair score, and Gwenog Jones gave him a nine, and a flirtatious wink, which Harry didn't know quite what to make off. Professor Lupin also gave him a nine, as did Professor Flitwick. Harry felt hope starting to rise up in him. 48 points so far!

Snape gave him a four, which surprised Harry greatly. He had been expecting something like a zero from him. Maybe Snape didn't hate him that much. Harry shuddered at the thought.

The cat, Lightningclaw, or something like that, gave him an eight, which Harry supposed was a great compliment, seeing as how Ron gasped. Mr. Crouch also gave him an eight, and Harry was shocked when Bagman gave him a ten! What about his shoulder?

As he sat down to watch the other champions, Harry felt both pleased and confused. On one hand, he had 78 points, the highest so far, according to Hermione. On the other hand, what was Bagman playing at?

_o0O0o_

George had flown through the first task, literally.

The moment he had entered the arena, and come face to face with the Romanian Longhorn, he had known what to do. How could he not? He and Fred had spent hours on this.

He had taken a single, modified Canary Cream from his pocket, and swallowed it. Immediately, he had felt himself transform. Wasting no time, he flew past the astonished dragon, swooped down, grabbed the eggs, and returned to safety before the dragon could even blink. The whole thing had taken less than a minute.

Ol' Dumbles seemed to be very impressed by the Transfiguration, and gave him a nine. Good ol' Dumbles! Sour face Karkaroff had given him a three, but then again, the man WAS a sour face.

Madame Maxime had given him an eight, and George made a mental note to get her and Hagrid together. That should make them both happy. Gwenog Jones had given him an eight, and George gave her a cheery wave in return. She was quite pretty, though no Angelina.

Professor lupin, better known as Moony, had given him a nine. George swore as soon as this year was over, Harry was getting pranked within an inch of his life. How could he have not told them who the Marauders were? Right now, Fred was hidden behind the judges' stand, waiting to ambush Moony just as he came out, so they could question him thoroughly. They intended to unleash havoc on Hogwarts like there had never been before.

Good ol' Flitwick had given him a ten! Full marks! Charms was one class he would definitely be paying attention in from now on. As expected, Snake…Snape had given him a four. Honestly, he had expected a negative 100 from him.

The cat gave him a seven, Percy's idol, Mr. Crouch, had given him an eight, and that cheater, Bagman, had given him a nine. As if that would make up for the money he stole!

83 points in total. Pretty high, but that was not what George was concerned with right now. He had a Marauder to interrogate…ahem, question!

_o0O0o_

The Hebridean Black had given Alicia no trouble whatsoever.

First thing she had done as she entered the arena was summon her broom. For some reason, this had caused the audience to gasp. Then, as she ascended, she had kept eye contact with the dragon, hands carefully not raised. According to all the dragon taming books she had read, dragons considered it an insult if you raised your hands, because dragons normally reared up on their hind legs for an attack.

When the dragon had made no move to attack, Alicia had slowly raised her wand so it was parallel to her face, and whispered a fire spell. A tongue of flame had sprung from her wand tip, giving the illusion that she was breathing fire. She was careful to control the flames, so that it did not seem like a challenge.

When the dragon had still not attacked, Alicia swooped down until she was eye to eye with the dragon. This had been the most nerve wracking part. If the dragon chose to incinerate her now, she would have no chance to get away. But staring into the dragon's black eyes, she had seen sorrow, and anger there, anger that such a mighty dragon had to participate in such a stupid tournament. In that moment, understanding hit both of them, and the dragon had moved aside to let her take the golden egg.

Now, Alicia reflected, this tournament was quite insulting. Forcing such a mighty beast such as a dragon to lower itself to making a spectacle for someone else's amusement was very insulting. Alicia realized that she didn't care anymore about winning the tournament. Wizards treated others they didn't understand so horribly! Maybe Granger had the right idea with that SPEW thing.

Dumbledore had given her an eight, Karkaroff, a three, Madame Maxime, a seven, and Gwenog Jones, a nine, but Alicia's mind was another place entirely. Professor Lupin had given her an eight, Professor Flitwick, a nine, Professor Snape, a four, Mr. Crouch, an eight, and Bagman, a nine, giving her 73 points altogether, but Alicia didn't care. How anyone could treat a dragon like that was beyond her.

As Angelina and Katie rushed squealing towards her, Alicia resolved to treat all magical creatures better, from that time on.

_o0O0o_

Luna wasn't concerned at all.

Why people called Ukrainian Ironbellies vicious, she would never know. They were really quite gentle, and highly misunderstood creatures. This one was no exception. It hadn't wanted to be in this tournament, and Luna had just offered it another solution. Give her the egg, and disappoint the humans. The clever dragon had immediately understood her logic, and agreed. Now, holding the golden egg, Luna waited for her scores.

Professor Dumbledore gave her a nine, which was really quite extravagant, since she had just done the logical thing. Poor Professor Karkaroff, with the anger issues, gave her a four. He really needed to control his temper. Madame Maxime had given her a four, which was nice of her. People called giants and half giants monsters, but really, they were very nice.

Captain Jones had also given her an eight, the very nice woman. Professor Lupin had also given her an eight, all very reasonable so far. Really, so far, everyone whom wizards considered abnormal, barmy, creatures, or outcasts, had been very nice to her. Must be the Nargles clouding up everyone's brains.

Professor Flitwick had given her a ten, which was a bit much, but she supposed he was feeling sorry that he hadn't noticed all the Wrackspurts in Ravenclaw Tower. Professor Snape gave her a five, which was very nice of the man. There was goodness in everyone, she knew. It just took some people very rare occasions to show it.

Clever Lightningclaw had given her an eight. People really misunderstood cats sometimes. They were much more intelligent than people thought. Poor Mr. Crouch had given her an eight. Wasn't it obvious? The poor man had been cursed, probably with a Confundus, or Imperius. He was not himself at all. You could see it in his eyes. Mr. Bagman had given her a nine, but he was just being nice. According to the Quibbler, Mr. Bagman was in lots of debt to the goblins, and was betting on Harry Potter to clear his debt. He really should learn not to gamble. Though she did appreciate the 77 points she had in total.

The first task would make an excellent second page for the Quibbler. First, of course, was the recent Crumple Horned Snorkack sighting in Sweden.

_o0O0o_

It was official. The Ministry was a bunch of idiots.

It was easy, so easy, to get past the dragon! Millicent had merely summoned the model of the dragon from the tent, and enlarged it. It had immediately attacked the bigger dragon, and while the two were fighting it out, Millicent had snuck around them, and gotten the egg. Piece of cake.

That had earned her full marks from Dumbledore, and a five from Karkaroff, which had to be one of the higher scores the man had given. Madame Maxime had given her an eight, as had Captain Jones, and Professor Lupin. Professor Flitwick had given her a nine, which made her mentally bump him up to her list of top five favourite professors. Professor Snap had given her a ten, and from the look he gave her, it wasn't because she was Slytherin, it was because she had earned it. And that made her feel proud. The cat had given her an eight, as had Mr. Crouch, and Bagman, had given her a nine. Ministry idiots.

Well, at least the idiots had given her a high score. This meant she had 83 points, which was probably one of the highest, due to the cheering from the crowd, and the disappointed looks on the Gryffindors' faces.

She, Millicent Bulstrode, had, on this day, honoured the noble House of Slytherin, and proved it worthy to everyone. She had a feeling her rank in the social ladder had just climbed up several notches.

_o0O0o_

Humans could be denser than a noisy dog sometimes.

Really, how hard was this? The big fire lizard hadn't even seen him as he raced from shadow to shadow, paws light, the wind in his fur. It had been all too easy to get to the giant golden egg, so easy that Crookshanks thought there had to be a catch somewhere. But no. It had been as easy as that.

The egg was safely with his Mistress now. He would take a look at it later. Right now, he had to see the point-marks he was to be given.

The long beard wise one gave him a nine. The disgusting cowardly human in the hider's fur had given him a two. Two! This was disgraceful. The big giant woman had given him a seven, as had the human woman who smelled of the broomsticks that Mistress hated. The sad wolf human had given him an eight, as had the goblin human. The one who looked like a bat had given him a four, which made Crookshanks even angrier. These stupid humans were giving him low point-marks because he was a cat!

His old mentor, Lightningclaw, was fairer. He got a perfect score from him, and Crookshanks saw the proud gleam in his eyes. Both were remembering the days of the fire lizard wars, when they had fought, side by side.

The cursed human, the one who could speak the language, had given him an eight. How was it not obvious the human was cursed? His actions were not his own! The cheery fat human had given him a ten though, which made Crookshanks very happy. At least some humans were respectful!

This whole thing was proving to be a farce so far. According to Mistress, he had gotten 73 point-marks, which wasn't very much compared to the point-marks of the other humans. This made him mad. This was prejudice against cats and Kneazles everywhere! Most of the humans were quite stupid, and Crookshanks was starting to regret entering this human competition.

_o0O0o_

Barty Crouch Jr. was very upset now. He had completely and utterly failed to keep the other champions from discovering the first task, and to make things worse, the Potter boy wasn't in first place! The Weasley brat he had expected, but not the Bulstrode girl.

When his Master returned, the first to go would be the blood traitor Weasleys, and the Bulstrodes. Then, he would call for the extermination of all cats, have every copy of the Quibbler burned, and the Lovegoods sent to Azkaban, and then send every single champion and their families to a Dementor feast, with them as the main course!

The "judges" would have to go as well. His master would personally kill the old goat, Dumbledore, and punish the cowards who dared deny him, Karkaroff and Snape, beyond measure. They would be lucky to hold a wand again! All the halfbreeds would be stamped out, the Ministry officials killed, dear old dad would be sent to Azkaban, and all would be perfect.

The manic grin on his face was enough to set several students crying.

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><p><strong>Read and Review!<strong>


	3. Of Dates, Dancing, and Dung Beetles

**Here is the next chapter of The NOT Triwizard Tournament, delivered by spring break, as promised. Never mind that it's the last day of spring break...oh well, I'm still technically on time. Blame my muse bunny. She decided she had other stuff she wanted me to write before she would let me finish this chapter, which is why the first half is good (in my opinion), and the second half not so good. WARNING: big chunky paragraphs ahead. **

**I've got massive amounts of homework from my teachers, and that was just the beginning of term. We have been told to expect even more, so I tell you now, to all you readers who have been following this thing through, expect long waits between updates. Another reason I'm so slow is because my mind is on Hunger Games mode. I went to see it the day after it was released, and it was awesome! This is what happens when you have the author as one of the screen writers. If you are a Hunger Games fan, you have to see this. If not, still go see it.**

**Disclaimer: Meh. Muse bunny isn't giving me any creative material for a funny disclaimer, so I'm tossing muse bunny out to say my disclaimer, because I WON'T SAY IT! No, you can't make me! Fine, I don't own Harry Potter. Happy?**

**Thanks to Pablo and Baboo, and Stephy-Lou Clark-Weasley, who have reviewed every chapter of this story...both chapters. And thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed, put it on their favourites list, or put it on story alert. Please review!**

* * *

><p>Chapter Three: Of Dates, Dancing, and Dung Beetles<p>

Harry's first reaction, upon hearing that there was to be a Yule Ball, in which he was supposed to dance in front of the whole school, with a date, was to panic. He couldn't dance, and he was sure that if he asked Cho, she would turn him down. Not that he ever got the chance. She was surrounded by her friends 24/7, who giggled every time he tried to get near. He had taken to wandering around the entrance to Ravenclaw Tower, hoping to catch her alone, not that it worked. Finally, it was Luna Lovegood, whom he had gotten to know after the First Task, who had dissuaded all ideas of asking Cho.

"She's going with Cedric Diggory." Luna told him after bumping into him yet again at the entrance to the Tower "She and her friends have been talking about it all week. Personally, I think it's the Nargles. Cedric's a very nice boy, but she obsesses over him far too much."

"Oh. Thanks, Luna." Harry said glumly, all thoughts of asking Cho gone.

"Don't sound so grumpy, Harry, it attracts Wrackspurts." Luna said wisely "If you need a date, you should ask a girl you already know."

"Right. Er…" Harry thought for a moment. A girl he knew… He looked over at Luna, who seemed to have guessed what he was thinking.

"Oh, no, Harry, I already have a date!" she said brightly "Neville's taking me! He's just the sweetest, isn't he? I bumped into him after Ginny said no to him. He was pretty upset, and I could sense the Wrakspurts were getting closer, so I talked to him a bit, and cheered him up. He asked me to the ball, and I said yes. He's very gentlemanly. Ginny doesn't know what she's missing."

"Who's Ginny going with?" Harry asked.

"Oh, Seamus Finnegan." Luna said airily "He's been crushing on her since the start of this year, and he asked her, and she said yes. I do hope Ronald doesn't hurt him too bad."

"I've got a feeling what Ron does won't be nearly as bad as what the twins will do." Harry said, grinning "But, that's all the girls I know that I can ask. I mean, I don't really want to ask Lavender or Parvati."

"Dean Thomas already asked Parvati." Luna said "Her sister, Padma, told me. And Harry, the Wrackspurts must really have affected your mind, if you've forgotten your best friend."

"Uh, Luna?" Harry asked cautiously "Ron's a guy."

"I'm not talking about Ronald." Luna said, somewhat exasperatedly "I'm talking about Hermione Granger! Have you really forgotten all about her?"

"Of course not!" Harry said indignantly.

"Then ask her!" Luna said slowly, as if he were a child "I've seen Viktor Krum looking at her whenever she's in the library. He's been crushing on her, and he's going to ask her to the Yule Ball soon. Do you really want her going with Viktor Krum?"

"No!" Harry instantly replied.

"Then go ask her first, silly! She's in the library now! Hurry, if you don't want Krum to get there first!"

Harry sprinted away in the direction of the library, leaving a smiling Luna behind.

_o0O0o_

Viktor Krum was not in a happy mood.

First, he had gotten second last in the first task. Second, Karkaroff was ranting furiously on the ship everyday about how the other champions were cheating, and how they shouldn't be in the Tournament. Third, the pretty, bushy haired girl he had seen in the library, had been asked out by Harry Potter, and she had said yes. Now, he had no date to this ball.

At least the egg clue was easy. They had studied mermaids in Magical Creatures class, and he had instantly recognized the screechy voices. Now, what would he miss most?

"Oh!"

Viktor stumbled back. He had not been watching where he was going, and had bumped into a girl, one of the extra champions, he realized.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he helped her up.

"Fine, thank you." the girl replied "I'm used to being bumped around."

Viktor took a closer look at the girl. She was certainly well built, with strong, thick limbs, rather like his mother. Her face wasn't the prettiest he'd seen, but it held a certain charm, a gleaming intelligence in her eyes, and her cheeks were rosy.

"Are you alright?" the girl asked him, having noticed his scrutiny.

"I am fine, thank you." Viktor replied "Vat is your name? I have not a good memory vith names."

"Millicent Bulstrode." the girl said "And you are Viktor Krum."

"I am guessing you are Quidditch fan." Viktor sighed. Just when he thought she was a normal girl, who didn't like him for his fame.

"Actually, no." Mill-i-cent blushed "I just know because all the girls in my dorm talk about you all the time. I don't really watch it that much."

"Oh." Viktor said, greatly relieved "Mill-y-sent,"

"Millicent." she corrected.

"Sorry." Viktor felt his face burn "Vould you like to go to the ball vith me?"

"Me?" she gasped. Viktor shrugged.

"You are pretty like my mother, and you are not fan girl." he tried to explain.

"No one's ever said I'm pretty before." she whispered quietly.

"You are as pretty as my mother." Viktor said again. She looked up at him, as if to see whether or not he was telling the truth. Finally, she nodded.

"It would be my pleasure." she said, in a very dignified tone. Viktor felt very happy.

"Then I vill see you at the ball." Viktor said, bowing. Mill-i-cent smiled.

_o0O0o_

Crookshanks was getting very annoyed with the scrawny excuse for a cat, the one who pranced around the big stone learning den as if she owned the place.

Ever since the first test the humans had made him do, the one whom the humans called "Mrs. Norris" had been stalking him, appearing every time he turned a corner. She was obviously hoping to be his mate, but Crookshanks would have none of that! The sorry excuse for a feline didn't even have a proper cat name, Mrs. Norris indeed!

But he had other concerns as well. Mistress had told him about the human gathering at the time of snow, when they dressed in fancy pelts, and walked fancily around with their mates. Mistress said it was called a Yule Ball, and because he was competing in this contest, he had to go as well, with a mate.

Where was he going to find a mate? Going with Mistress was absolutely unacceptable, since not only was she not cat, but she was Mistress, and there had to be proper boundaries. Also, Mistress' friend, the one with messy black fur on his head, and round shiny things on his eyes, the one who was also in this contest, had asked Mistress, and Mistress had said yes.

It was too late to send a message to his clan, since it would take many days for it to arrive, and even more days for a cat to arrive. He needed someone to go with, so he wouldn't shame his clan by showing up alone at this human yuleball thing.

Time was running out. He was seriously considering asking the scrawny dust coloured Mrs. Norris now. He was the only cat in the castle, apart from her. All the other humans who went to the stone learning den brought owls, since they thought they were more useful than cats. As if!

His keen ears picked up the unmistakable meow of Mrs. Norris, and he quickly fled. Just remembering her bulging eyes, dusty fur, and irritating meow instantly shooed away all thoughts of asking her. He heard pawsteps behind him: she was chasing him, acting like a kitten again. Crookshanks ran up to the owl den, hoping the smell would discourage her. It didn't.

"Meeow!" Mrs. Norris meowed happily "Meeow!"

"Mrow!" Crookshanks cursed, and backed into a corner, hoping she wouldn't see him. Unfortunately, years of hunting humans in the stone learning den had given her keen senses, and she stalked towards him playfully. Crookshanks closed his eyes, and whimpered, as she got closer.

"Screech!" The screech vibrated through the round walls of the owl den, and Crookshanks heard Mrs. Norris spitting furiously. He opened his eyes to see the white owl of the human who had asked Mistress leading a bunch of owls against Mrs. Norris. Mrs. Norris tried to bat them away, but when they were close enough that she could see their sharp talons, she fled, wailing.

The owls screeched and hooted, congratulating themselves. From what Crookshanks could decipher, for the owls were using the most basic form of the language of animals, they were proud that they had driven away the nosy cat that the young humans didn't like. Crookshanks gave the cat equivalent of a smirk.

"Hoot!" said the white owl who had led the charge. She was perched beside him, a very smug look on her face "Hoot hoot screech hoot hoot!"

"Meow?" Crookshanks asked.

"Hoot hoot screech hoot. Screech hoot screech screech hoot!"

Crookshanks thought over it. Yes, she was an owl, and not a cat, but she had saved him, and he did owe her. At any rate, anyone was better than Mrs. Norris.

"Meow." Crookshanks agreed.

"Hoot!" the white owl, Hedwig, she said she was, hooted happily, and flew off. Crookshanks was happy now. He had someone to go to the human yuleball thing with. It was funny, that her Master was going to the human yuleball with his Mistress, and he was going with her. He didn't know why, but it just seemed to fit.

_o0O0o_

The Yule Ball was _the _event of the year.

The Quidditch World Cup had been great, yes, but for many members of the magical community, witches especially, it lacked the elegance and class of a social event. Besides, as some of the more snobbier families sniffed, anyone could attend the World Cup, even commoners. This, the Yule Ball, the shining jewel of the Triwizard Tournament, even, as some said, more important than the tasks themselves. And for the first time, it was open to those outside the three schools, on the insistence of the French and Bulgarian ministries, who felt that if Hogwarts was going to have more champions than them, they would outshine their rival by showing the cream of their society.

To the students of Hogwarts, and indeed, many of the people attending, it was an excuse to go all out in spending and primping. Stores were mobbed by furious crowds of students and grown ups alike, most of them witches, though there were quite a few wizards as well. The Hogsmeade trip before the ball completely emptied the stores within a few hours, and many found themselves frantically fighting over a single robe, or piece of jewelry.

Of course, this was just the British. The French and Bulgarians, after hearing about all the fuss created by this tournament, were determined to outshine their foreign counterparts, at least in finery, if not in champions. Thus, the Yule Ball, meant to be an occasion simply for the students, professors, and a few Ministry officials, turned into the social event of the year.

Rumours helped spread the mad dash to get an invitation. Some hopeful students, and more than a few wizards, were highly looking forward to the supposed Firewhiskey fountain. A few giggly witches told everyone they knew that Gilderoy Lockhart had made a miraculous recovery, and was going to be attending, and St. Mungo's found themselves treating many wizards across the country for loss of hearing. The rumours ranged from utterly ridiculous (There'll be tap dancing pigs, really! Right, George?) to fairly accurate (The Holyhead Harpies will all be going, since their captain is one of those extra Headmistresses). All in all, Hogwarts was in for a very exciting evening.

At five o clock the day of the Yule Ball, every single girl made a mass exodus back to their dorms, or in the cases of the women, into their bedrooms. Some of the older and wiser men knew what was going on, and did not try to stop their wives. But apart from the knowledgeable few, most males were scratching their heads, wondering why they needed three hours to prepare for some ball.

At seven o clock, most of the boys went to get ready. All around Hogwarts, there was a general sudden self consciousness, and many boys rushed to the mirrors, not wanting to leave their dates wanting. Up in Gryffindor Tower, in the fourth year boy's dorms, Harry Potter nervously tried to flatten his hair, Ron Weasley went wild with Cutting Charms on his dress robes, and Neville Longbottom caused a great mess when he got his head stuck in his robes, and flailed about the place. Down in the Slytherin dungeons, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Theodore Nott, and Blaise Zabini resorted to pounding on the bathroom doors, trying to get in, and Draco Malfoy promptly ignored them as he slathered even more hair gel onto his head.

Students began trickling out of their common rooms and collecting their dates on their way to the Great Hall. In the bright sea of colours, this was no easy task. Crookshanks was almost trampled by a crowd of eager students, and was narrowly rescued by Hedwig, who swooped in, narrowly missing several heads, and convincing the students to walk elsewhere.

The doors opened at eight o clock, and the students poured into the Great Hall, which was already half full, filled with the most famous, the richest, and the most influential people in all Britain, France, and Bulgaria, not to mention the families of all the champions, who had received free invitations.

When everyone who wasn't a champion or their date was seated, the doors to the Great Hall were opened again, and in came the champions. First in line was Fleur Delacour, in shimmering silver robes, with her date, Roger Davies of Ravenclaw. Most of the males in the Hall were drooling excessively as she walked by, causing their dates to become quite irritated. The Beauxbaton students clapped politely for their champion. Next was Viktor Krum, in dark purple robes, and on his arm, a beaming Millicent Bulstrode, looking rather nice in robes of deep green. It was the turn of the females in the Hall to stare longingly after Krum, and their dates' turn to look annoyed. The Durmstrang students were on their feet, cheering for their champion, and the Slytherins clapped loudly, and much to everyone's shock, one of them actually wolf-whistled.

Cedric Diggory and his date, Cho Chang, were next, eliciting great applause from the Hufflepuffs attending. When Harry Potter entered, Hermione Granger on his arm, there was one moment of stunned silence, before half the Hall erupted into cheers (prompted by the Gryffindors) and the other half broke into whispers and jealous stares. In the crowd, Ron Weasley was slowly turning red, much to the dismay of the date he had managed to wrangle at the last moment, Romilda Vane.

When George Weasley entered, accompanied by Angelina Johnson, the Gryffindors in the Hall again burst into cheers, which was mingled with laughter, when they saw Alicia Spinnet come in with Fred Weasley. Luna Lovegood's entrance with Neville Longbottom had more laughs and sneers than anyone else's, but Luna just smiled cheerfully, grabbed a very embarrassed Neville's arm, and proceeded to skip the rest of the way to the table reserved for the champions.

The last pair to enter took everyone by surprise, no less Hermione and Harry. Crookshanks entered, dressed in a little tuxedo which Hermione had specially order from a pet shop, with Hedwig gliding very close to the ground beside him, a small crown of mistletoe adorning her head. Where she had gotten the mistletoe, no one knew.

When everyone was at last seated, the British Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, stood up to say "a few words", and proceeded to spend the next five minutes speaking eloquently on the uniqueness of this tournament, the everlasting bonds it formed, and the experience everyone would always remember. The other ministers, determined not to let Fudge get all the attention, both stood up after Fudge was finished, and gave even longer speeches, in very thick accents. Then a few of the 'very important contributors' gave their speeches, and by this time, most of the people there had tuned out. When Headmaster Karkaroff stood up, and prepared to give a biting speech, a voice which sounded suspiciously like Ron Weasley's shouted "Get on with it!"

Karkaroff purpled, but the point had been made. Dumbledore stood up, discreetly hiding the parchment with which he had been playing tic tac toe against himself, and bade everyone "Tuck in!". After a few moments of confusion, in which no one knew how exactly to get at the nonexistent food, Dumbledore clarified, and declared "Pork chops!", and lo and behold, pork chops appeared on his plate. There was no problem after this.

Over at the champion's table, for there were too many of them for all to be seated at the Head table, a rather rebellious conversation was going on. Everyone was in agreement that this tournament was a flop, or, at least, the organizers were. Krum and Fleur both felt that it was completely unfair, both the fact that so many extra people had gotten in, and the scoring. Krum was quick to make it known that he did not like his own Headmaster so obviously favouring him. Cedric, being a Hufflepuff by nature, was a little less vehement than his fellow competitors, but agreed that it could have been done better. Alicia declared her thoughts on the cruelty of using dragons for the first task, something which none of the other champions really agreed on except for Luna, but which Hermione eagerly latched onto, which led to a discussion on the treatment of magical creatures.

George, Millicent, and Crookshanks were all in agreement that the first task was way too easy. Harry made it known that he really didn't want to be in this tournament, and he would gladly forfeit, if he could. With everyone rather disappointed with the tournament, upset with the scoring, and in agreement that it really could have gone better, a new friendship was formed between all the champions. George pointed out that the point of the tournament was to promote "international magical cooperation", and suggested an idea, which everyone quickly agreed on. If they were going to be made a spectacle, the crowd would get a spectacle.

Cedric and Fleur had been the only ones to figure out the clue in the golden egg, though Krum said he thought he might have the answer, and Crookshanks nodded after he said that, leaving everyone wondering just how smart this cat was. Cedric offered to share a clue about how to solve the egg, but right then, Harry caught one of the Bulgarian ministry officials staring suspiciously at them, and they all quickly arranged to meet the next day. Having nothing else to talk about, Krum brought up Quidditch, as a last resort, something Harry, George, and Cedric quickly seized upon. They began a spirited conversation on their favourite teams, and Cho, Alicia and Angelina joined in. Fleur took one look at Roger Davies, who had just been staring at her the entire time, not even eating, and quietly put a Sleeping Charm on him in disgust. Not knowing who to talk to, she was pleasantly surprised, when Hermione started talking to her in fluent French, and the two started jabbering in rapid French about their favourite places. Luna was telling Millicent about how she thought most of the Slytherin table must be infested with Nargles, and how Millicent was welcome to join her at the Ravenclaw table to get away from them, almost bringing Millicent to tears, since very few people had ever been nice to her. Neville watched them all rather uncomfortably, feeling out of place, when Luna suddenly grabbed his robes, and pulled him in for a long kiss. When they broke apart, a very flustered and red Neville asked why, and Luna simply pointed up. Flying over them was Hedwig, a sprig of mistletoe in her beak.

The happy mood at the champion's table was by no means reflected at the Head table. Down at one end, the ministry officials from the three represented countries pretended to be nice to each other, while subtly insulting their neighbor. At the other end, Karkaroff made very loud, insulting remarks about the extra champions, while Dumbledore tried in vain to turn the conversation elsewhere. Professor Snape talked to no one, and looked at no one, though he did shoot Karkaroff a scathing look when the other man was looking away. Gwenog Jones and Lightningclaw took turns glaring at Karkaroff, and Madame Maxime flat out turned her back to him altogether, and was talking to a very happy looking Hagrid. By far the most cheerful spot at the table was where Professor Flitwick was happily talking magical theory with Remus Lupin, and recounting Hogwarts days.

It was well past nine when everyone was finished eating. With a wave of his wand, Dumbledore swept the tables back, and the Weird Sisters trooped onstage to play the opening song. Most of the champions took their places quickly, and began to dance elegantly, most of them having been trained by their parents. Harry looked lost for a moment, before Hermione grabbed his hands, put one around her waist, grabbed the other, and started revolving on the spot with him, though she was the one steering. It was rather nice, and he decided this dancing business really wasn't too bad. As the song went on, more people joined the champions on the dance floor, and soon, it was rather crowded.

Halfway through the third song, several couples left the dance floor, giggling madly. Among them were Luna and Neville, Luna looking quite satisfied, and Neville with a disbelieving look on his face. The next song, people started ask others to the dance floor. Fleur, who had dumped Roger Davies as soon as she could after the first dance, was very pleased when a handsome, muscled boy from Durmstrang asked her dance. Romilda Vane had long ago deserted her date, and was prowling the Hall, looking for boys without a date. Finding none, she declared the ball a bust, and left the Hall in a huff, shortly followed by her former date, Ron Weasley, who was looking very sulky, and couldn't bear watching his two best friends dancing away.

"Attention folks!" declared the lead singer of the Weird Sisters after the fifth song "Thank you all for being such a great audience! We're now taking song requests, and the first request was our number one hit, 'Amortentia', so find the one you think is the one, and dance!"

At this, most of the boys made hurried excuses, and practically ran from the dance floor. The people who had come alone looked uncomfortably at each other, and sat further back in their seats. But the married couples and the older students stayed on the dance floor, dancing happily. When the song ended, the girls dragged their dates back on the dance floor, and all was well again.

_o0O0o_

Rita Skeeter was looking for a scoop.

She had not been one of the lucky few to get an invitation to the ball, nor had she been able to purchase any tickets. As such, she was forced to rely on her Animagus form (a dung bettle) to sneak in. It was all Dumbledore's fault. After her article about the tournament, in which she may have overdone it a bit too much on Harry Potter, she had been banned from the grounds.

There were so many stories she could do, but none of them had the smell of a headline. There would already be a fashion article, written by that stupid cow, Betsy Bogweed, but there were other things she could write about. The conversation she had overheard with the champions quite clearly voicing their disappointment with the tournament. The outrageous behavior of the Durmstrang Headmaster, though she was treading on thin ice with that one. The controversial request of the lead singer of the Weird Sisters, who asked everyone to dance with the person they thought was the one. But none of those, save possibly the champions' conversation, was headline news. She was now perched, have freezing, on a statue in the garden, hoping to hear some news, of any kind.

There! The Hogwarts gameskeeper, that Hagrid, was talking to the French Headmistress, Maxime. Rita strained her antennae, and was delighted with what she heard. Hagrid was a half giant! Now _that_ was headline material. She could just see it, emblazoned on the front page of the Daily Prophet: _Dumbledore's Giant Mistake._

"Screech!"

Rita looked up to see a giant white form descending on her, and if she could have, she would have screamed in terror.

"Mreow!"

Rita looked beneath her and saw a spitting, orange cat, mouth open, showing great huge teeth. It was too much for Rita. She fainted.

_o0O0o_

Hedwig barked delightedly. She had been on a lovely flight, soaring over Crookshanks, having a pleasant conversation, when he had alerted her to a human-turn- -animal. She had remembered her friend/master Harry complaining about a human-turn -animal last year. Maybe this was the one! She had swooped down on the human-turn-animal, which was a tasty beetle, while Crookshanks covered the base of the white stone it was on. The human-turn-animal had gone into scared-sleep when it saw them.

Now, what to do with it?

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading!<strong>


	4. THE DREADED AN!

**Hey everyone.**

**IT'S THE DREADED A/N!**

**I won't be updating this story for quite some time, for several very good reasons.**

**1) My computer died, and while I got a new harddrive, it's uncertain whether or not any of my stuff survived. I have some of it on a USB, but unfortunately, not this story, and not the other ones I've been working on, so if everything did get lost, I'll be retyping all of it for a long while. And I mean a LONG while. I had tons of stuff there. Funny, I was just about to put the files on my USB, when my computer died. It's like it didn't want me to.**

**2) I'm getting a whole lot of homework from my teachers, so between that, and trying to see if anything survived the great computer apocalypse, I'll barely have time for writing. Even if I do, muse bunny might not want to write anything for this particular story. **

**3) Muse bunny is very mad at me, for lots of reasons. I haven't been writing lots of stuff because of lots of homework and group projects (I ALWAYS end up the group leader. Why? WHY?), and she's rather mad that after all the inspiring words she's given me, it might be gone forever because the computer died, and she doesn't seem to understand that IT WASN'T MY FAULT! In short, I have writer's block, on a few particular stories of importance, including this one. However, stories that are not immediatly important right now, I have inspiration for. Don't blame me. Blame muse bunny.**

**Huh, I never thought I'd be writing one of the Dreaded Author Notes this early in my Fanfiction career. Well, too bad.**

**On the other hand, while all of us are waiting...sorry, while you guys in particular are waiting, you can visit my new blog! We had to make one for IT at school, and if you ignore all the questions and stuff on the home page, since that's where we're supposed to post our homework, and go to the "Concerning Fanfiction" page, you'll find information on my current fanfics, and future ones that I have planned. The link is below.**

**h t t p : / / p e a c e f u l s u n r i s e . e d u b l o g s . o r g /**

**This A/N will be replaced with the next chapter of "The NOT Triwizard Tournament", when I am actually able to write it.**

**Until then,**

**Let the magic live on,  
>May the Force be with you,<br>And may the odds be ever in your favour.**

**Peaceful Sunrise**


	5. Another ANBut don't worry!

**To all my wonderful readers:**

**WAIT! This is NOT what it seems! I am not abandoning this story or putting it on permanant hiatus! Which is the same thing, I think. But, I do however have some news that can be good/bad/neutral depending on your perspective.**

**A lot has changed for me since I started this story. When I first plotted out this story almost a year ago, I was a very different person than the one I am today. My interests have grown, I've matured in some ways, and most relevantly to this story, my writing style has changed.**

**Now, you may be wondering what on earth my writing style has to do with this story. The fact is, this is one of the first stories I ever published on this site. It was started when I was still pretty amateurish at this sort of stuff. I thought I planned stuff out well then, but as it turns out, there are a number of plot holes in what I planned. I wrote stuff that I thought was good then, but which I now can hardly believe I even dared to post it. I've learned more about writing through experience. I've learned that long, chunky paragraphs broken by occasional lines of conversation are hard on the eyes and the mind. In short, I am a better writer now than I was then.**

**What that has to do with this story is that with my writing style so different, I am finding it hard to piece together the new ideas I have for this story now with the other chapters. If I were to continue writing chapters as I had originally planned, the story would suddenly become very different and confusing. I would be trying to introduce important new plot elements that had not been previously mentioned, and the flow would be horrendous. It'd be like watching a bunch of deleted scenes from an animated movie that are still drawing-board style, then watching a continuation of the story as a fully animated feature. It's weird and just doesn't work.**

**Apart from that, I have also run into an enormous block of writer's block for this story. I just don't know how to continue this thing on. It's one thing to have an idea, and another thing to put it down into words. **

**I really love this story, I really do. It's one of the first I published on this site, and it will always be dear to me. I just don't see a way I can continue in the same direction I was going with this story. I've considered a rewrite, but it would take a long time, time which I do not have. I have also considered letting someone else take over this story, but I just can't bring myself to give away my creation to someone else. But I do NOT want to abandon this story. Therefore, I have come up with a list of viable options, and I shall allow you, the dear readers, to choose:**

**1) I just tell you what I mean to happen in the story in another A/N chapter. Will contain both my past and current intentions.**

**2) I write an epilogue in which one of the characters in this story is telling the story to their grandchildren (eg Luna tells the story to her grandkids. The reason the story was cut off at the last chapter is because she was telling the story and then one of her grandkids asked her a question)**

**3) Similar idea to 2, but it's Hedwig telling the story to her chicks.**

**4) One of the characters (probably one of the champions) is writing a book about their experience in the "Tri"wizard Tournament, and is interupted by his/her wife/husband, and they reminesce together.**

**I am so sorry that it had to come to this, but I simply do not feel I can continue on with this story as I orginally intended. Please let me know your choice in a review. There will not be a poll up on my profile. You may also choose to PM your choice to me. If there is a tie between two options, I shall choose the one I think best. The story lies in your hands now.**

**Thank you so much to everyone who has read, reviewed, and followed this story. I love you guys!**

**Sincerely,  
>Peaceful<strong>


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